


To Sleep, Mayhaps to Dream

by Elasmosaurus



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Married Life, Post-War, Workaholic Hubert von Vestra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elasmosaurus/pseuds/Elasmosaurus
Summary: His husband's fondness for poisons was a constant throughout the changing dynamic of their relationship. From when Ferdinand felt they were enemies and Hubert did not even consider him worth enough of his time to return the sentiment; to times during the war when they earned each other's respect; to that fateful night when Ferdinand had disposed of the kingdom assassin he found attempting to break into Hubert's quarters.A brief summary of the relationship of Ferdinand and Hubert which leads to a morning where Ferdinand has to take care of his workaholic husband.orA few times Ferdinand is overwhelmed by how much he feels for Hubert.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 11
Kudos: 90





	To Sleep, Mayhaps to Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [incunand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/incunand/gifts).



> It is 7:20am in the UK. I have been up all night. I have not reread this since finishing. It may be full of errors. I will check after a long nap but am posting now.
> 
> Please have some emotional support fluff, as requested by Dreamu, to counter the current state of the world.
> 
> There's a small reference to sex in there somewhere so heads up.

Horses were such demanding creatures, but Ferdinand adored them all the same.

Even when he was younger and they had servants to conduct the general chores of the Aegir household, Ferdinand would rise at dawn to groom his own mount. Then, it had been a grumpy flaxen chestnut Haflinger gelding called Allegro. Allegro liked to bite and kick, but the determined Ferdinand von Aegir, legitimate heir to the Aegir household, was not put off his noble duties by the pony's mean demeanor! These days, though, he rose in the mornings to bask in the love he felt for his grey Percheron and his melancholy husband. The fine mare, Sierra, and his name were some of the few relics he had left of his former house before it had been dissolved as part of Edelgard's reforms and in truth, she was the only one of them he much cared for anymore.

Ferdinand often chortled when he thought of his ostentatious foolishness as a youth, and how different his life once was. It was no wonder, really, that Hubert had not been most taken with him and his brash ways in the academy days. The man had once confided in him that "it was only by Lady Edelgard's good graces you found your tea was always potable and restorative, rather than deleterious, you insufferable fool."

His husband's fondness for poisons was a constant throughout the changing dynamic of their relationship. From when Ferdinand felt they were enemies and Hubert did not even consider him worth enough of his time to return the sentiment; to times during the war when they earned each other's respect; to that fateful night when Ferdinand had disposed of the kingdom assassin he found attempting to break into Hubert's quarters.

In his relief at finding the man unharmed, Ferdinand was so overcome by the crashing wave of his emotions for Hubert that he had dared to drag the man's gaunt face down so he could capture him in a bruising kiss. He apologised profusely afterwards, of course, as such an outburst was not proper of one of his station. Rather, he should have asked permission prior to engaging their lips, which he promptly did because his heart had swelled so full of emotion he felt it could burst and he required the pressure of Hubert's bony form against his again. Hubert's deathly pale features had turned the most wonderful shade of crimson when he nodded his consent, one he had only seen once before when gifting the Minister of the Imperial Household some coffee he had spent a week chopping firewood to earn the money to purchase.

They had spent a chaste night together that eve, Ferdinand curled up in the embrace of Hubert's long arms, and he wondered if it was possible for anything to feel more  _ right _ . Then there was the battle where Ferdinand had been unseated from his horse and Hubert had taken out nigh on half the enemy army to reach him, to protect him, because Ferdinand wasn't allowed to die until Hubert had admitted his love for him. Ferdinand would have preferred a more pleasant setting than a battlefield for that first exchanging of "I love you"'s, but he could not deny the inherent romance of the situation they had found themselves in, and it made a wonderful scene in the opera Dorothea and Manuela had composed of Edelgard's story. He once again wondered if anything would be able to top the emotional crescendo that sped in a fast waltz through his body.

Then had come the time when Hubert had proved he trusted Ferdinand absolutely by informing him of the secret war he was fighting to free Fódlan from external influences, so the people were free to rise in society based on merit alone. Ferdinand had not cried when they professed their love for each other. However, the display of trust and openness had had him blubbering like a child and Hubert chided him fondly for it as silk clad fingers brushed away the glistening tracks of his tears.

And then, when he felt like he couldn't love and hate Hubert any more, the impossible man had gone and ruined  **months** worth of planning and preparation by proposing to him first. Oh, how his heart had both soared and dropped at the sight of his love on one knee.

Unlike the other times, Ferdinand had expected the increased intensity of the passion, the love, the longing he felt for Hubert when they spoke their vows to serve the new world and each other until their departure from this mortal coil. The world finally knew that this insufferable, beautiful man was  _ his. _ Hm. He could scarcely believe it himself, yet all of their closest friends told them they had been on this path from the beginning.

Despite devouring romantic literature, Ferdinand was decidedly  _ not _ prepared for their first night together, sharing a bed as husbands. The feel of skin on skin was enchanting and the lilt of their voices as they moved as one developing into a staccato as they reached their peaks would echo in his mind forever. In those moments together, utterly spent in each other’s arms, Ferdinand’s feelings for his lover, his husband, his raison d'être were all consuming. Holding Hubert’s eyes, a hand on his cheek, Ferdinand poured the adoration and admiration he felt into the beautiful marble statue made flesh before him as stunning as Saint Indech himself. The man wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, so Ferdinand compromised and kept it to himself. Hubert’s only response to the heart Ferdinand gave him was a chaste kiss pressed on the tip of his nose, in stark relief to the salacious carnal pleasures they had indulged in prior.

Regarding the poisons these days, Ferdinand had long since given up on their argument about whether banes had a place in their house ( _ What would our guests think, Hubert? _ was countered with  _ The only opinions I entertain are Lady Edelgard's _ , although this was a lie as Ferdinand knew Hubert valued his mind too) but instead conceded that mixing them in the kitchen did make sense as long as separate and clearly labelled jars in their own storage locations were used. At least they did not have to fret over staff discovering the wrong sugar bowl under Edelgard’s new order.

He was still unable to cook unless Hubert was present to ensure the ingredients were safe, although this allowed him to ensure his husband was not working himself to death and that he ate at least one good meal a day. His husband. Five years later, and Ferdinand’s heart still stuttered to think of his beloved as such.

The warm sunlight hit Ferdinand’s face, igniting his luscious orange mane. He beamed into the pillow, smile brighter than the weak dawn light streaming into the room. Had the room been bathed in the strong midday rays, his smile would have outshone it all the same. Ferdinand’s eyes fluttered open and he was greeted to the site of his riding breeches, smallclothes, a loose, billowy white shirt with a deep v neck that laced at the front and boots laid out waiting for him. On his dresser, a hairbrush was meticulously placed next to a navy blue ribbon for securing his hair

Hubert was so attentive to his needs. Servitude was clearly his love language. He turned in bed to thank his husband and a small scowl darkened his features.

The bed was empty, Hubert’s side entirely undisturbed. Unslept in. Ferdinand let out an indignant huff and stormed to his feet when he heard a low and malevolent chuckle from the corner of the room where the Minister of the Imperial Household’s plain pine desk resided.

He cherished that laugh, but presently he was annoyed. This insupportable man!

“Coffee is not enough sustenance for the temple of your body, my love. You need sleep!” Ferdinand huffed, hands on his hips, stomping his foot to emphasise his point.

“You’d be much more imposing, my dear, if you were not in just your smallclothes,” came Hubert’s cool reply.

“I am Ferdinand von Aegir-Vestra, Prime Minister of Fodlan, and you  _ will _ listen to me.” He held his head in one hand now, shaking it in vexation. As always, he spoke with the conviction that believing something enough will make it happen. Not even marrying a villain had let him see the evil in the world.

“And if I don’t?” A teasing note entered Hubert’s voice as a wry smile tugged at his lips. He was still hunched over the desk, the wax of burnt out candles spilling over to cover bare spaces not occupied by their mountains of paperwork.

“Then I shall - I shall - “ Ferdinand spluttered, knowing full well that there was nothing he nor Edelgard could say to make Hubert put his health before her vision.

“Then by my duty as your husband I shall  _ make _ you sleep!” He reinforced the words with a fist pump, and strode over to the desk to pull Hubert up from the chair.

Hubert rubbed his temples, prepared to explain why he had to complete these particular letters overnight to ensure a corrupt dignitary met with a timely end before trade negotiations are opened with Sreng, but the concern he saw in Ferdinand’s honey eyes assassinated that line of thought.

Hubert knows using Ferdinand’s adoration for the equine beast is a low blow, but he only needs 20 minutes to complete this task, then coffee and an actual breakfast should get him through his schedule. He can slink out of their chambers whilst Ferdinand is gone, avoid the disappointed looks for the day and if Ferdinand wanted to be mad at him, then, well. They could deal with that this evening.

“Darling, doesn’t your mount need grooming and exercise?”

By now Ferdinand had Hubert on his feet, quill set down out of reach as he blocked the path back to the desk with that muscular chest, pushing his precious Jewel back. 

“You should’ve thought of that before you eschewed sleep for petty squabbles that could’ve waited ‘til the morrow. Now she, too, will suffer for your drive to work yourself to death!” There’s love in the pushes Ferdinand uses to force Hubert onto the bed. There’s no use explaining to him now that it is already the morrow, so things can no longer wait. Hubert allows himself to be pushed onto the bed. Once he is successful, Ferdinand takes his time as he unlaces Hubert’s shoes to pull them off gently. He deftly undoes the buttons on von Vestra’s garments to remove them. Ferdinand leaves them in a pile on the floor.

Ordinarily, Hubert would complain but Ferdinand is still manhandling him until he is under the covers and tucked in. Only then does the whirlwind of his husband on a mission slow to a stop, coming to rest in the chair by their bed. His eyes dare Hubert to find out what will happen if he gets out of bed.

"Must you glare so angrily? I do not need to be watched like a child,” Hubert sighed exasperatedly. He’d never be able to slip out like this.

“Clearly you do, because only bairns refuse to sleep so stubbornly!”

The morning is a write off, if Ferdinand is being this willful. So be it. 

“If you insist on supervising me, do it from our bed.”

“So it is  _ our  _ bed now? I wasn’t so sure, waking up by myself.”

_ “Ferdinand.” _

The orange haired man’s expression was still sour.

“Come to bed, my dear. How else am I meant to sleep, if not with you by my side?”

Ferdinand’s face softened, and he climbed back into bed. Once he was settled, Hubert rested his head on the toned planes of Ferdinand’s chest and allowed the tension in his shoulders to melt away as his husband runs soothing fingertips up and down his arms, humming one of the songs his mother used to lull him to sleep.

Hubert’s eyes felt the heavy droop of sleep, and he prepares to let it claim him.

Before he is lost to the world, soft lips press into his head and he feels the rumble of Ferdinand’s chest as he murmurs, soft and low, “You will need to make it up to Sierra when you wake.”

“Mmmm, anything to please you, darling,” Hubert mumbled, half incoherent with sleep. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he noted that Ferdinand had stopped using contractions. His anger had faded. Within minutes, Hubert's breathing evens out and he looks peaceful.

Ferdinand hopes that Hubert can rest well, mayhaps even dream, in his arms.

Ferdinand could only look down at the great and terrible beauty he held in his arms and marvel at the journey they had taken to find their home, once again surprised to find a new depth of feelings for the one they called Hubert von Vestra. He closes his eyes to let sleep claim him too.

**Author's Note:**

> TYSM for reading! I thrive on feedback and am very open to constructive comments too.
> 
> This is my first time writing these two not as background idiots pretending not to like the others, so I hope they feel in character.
> 
> If you enjoyed it please leave a comment or Kudos. <3


End file.
